Second Chances
by SignlessAcolyte
Summary: We all know how it ended for Lee. But what if... he had been given a second chance to do things right? Empowered by a mysterious stranger he is ready to face the world of the undead once again.


"Lee! Please don't leave me! You're all I have left!"

Hearing the pain practically saturating her voice stabbed me just as sharp as the pain from my newly amputated arm.

" Come here Clementine."

Before I even finished that short sentence, she launched her tiny frame at me.

I buried my head into her hair whispering " I'm sorry baby. I was supposed to protect you."

She sniffled and hugged me tighter. And as much I wish I could keep consoling her, I could feel this sickness starting to claim me.

Gently I spoke " Sweet-pea… you need to let go. It's happening."

She shook her head violently.

"NO! You can't! My Mom and Dad…. And now you too? Please no! Please don't become a Walker!

Tears started to stream down both her face and mine. Because I knew the only way to fill her desperate plea… would kill her.

"There's only one way for that to happen Clem."

I glanced weakly at the dead officer's hip holster. Her eyes met mine in understanding horror. She slowly let go of her death grip on me.

" You can do it Clem. Remember how I showed you."

Tears flooding her face, she nodded and raised the gun level with my head.

" You're strong baby. Find Omid and Christa. Take care of each other… and Clementine?"

"Y-yeah Lee?"

"…. I love you Clem."

" I love you too Lee.:

And with that I closed my eyes with a smile on my face.

…. Click… CRACK!

Lee Everett…..

Lee!

I opened my eyes, startled. "What the fuck?"

I was in an office. A comfortable looking place with a fire, gorgeous looking desk, Leather Chairs, multiple books of all genres, and multiple gaming systems.

The chair behind the desk swiveled around to reveal a kid a little Older than Ben had been smiling at me. He had dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and a full goatee.

"Welcome Lee. It's an honor to finally meet you."

" What? Who? What the fuck is going on here?!"

" It's alright Lee. You're safe now."

Safe? How could I be safe? The last thing I….

It hit me with the force of a semi. " I'm dead aren't I?"

A sympathetic look passed over his face. " Yeah. You're dead."

God…. "So what is this?"

"Ah… I guess you could call this my domain."

Um… Ok? " So why am I here then?"

The kid smiled at me. " I'd like to make a deal with you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. " What offer?"

He leaned forward looking serious. " I would like to send you back. Back to the moment of the car crash that started everything."

I looked at him blankly for a moment before exploding with fury.

" And why the fuck would I do all that shit over again?! Do you have any idea how hard and painful it was getting?!"

And with a completely deadpan voice he replied. " Because if you don't, Clementine will die two week after your death."

My blood felt like ice hearing his words. " no… No! She can't! Omid and Christa were supposed to take care of her!"

" It's a big ass city Lee. They will try. They will try for 3 weeks before finally finding her body."

No…. " Who? Who did it?"

"Will do. It hasen't happened yet. But to answer your question… Remnants of Crawford. And you know why."

My head bowed, tears once again graced my face.

With instincts honed by months of living in fear, I easily noticed the kid getting up. He sat on the desk in front of me.

" That's the thing Lee… I can send you back. Give you a better shot at a happy ending. I can help you. If you let me."

I looked up at him in confusion and hope. " A-are you God?"

Immediately the strange guy started busting his ass laughing.

" Ha! Oh sweet Christ… that's funny. No Lee. I'm not God. Just call me…. Your biggest fan. Now… the question is… do you want my help?"

I breathed deep, and said the only thing I could. " Please…. Please help me keep her safe."

Giving a wide ass smile, he said to me " Done fucking deal! Alright! Let's get down to business.

I'm going to send you back to right after you get in that car crash. You will remember everything that happened over your Journey. Oh.. and I am going to give you three gifts to aid you."

Wha…? " Gifts"

" Yep. These'll give you a substantial against anything and anyone out there.

First of my gifts, you may choose one person of your group to have all of their memories restored."

"Clementine." I blurted out without hesitation.

He gave me a satisfied smile.

" I'd hoped you would pick her. Her memories will be returned as soon as she hands you the hammer to put her babysitter down."

" wait… What?"

" Sadly you're gonna have to put yourself in many of the same situations if you want to manipulate them properly."

Shit…

" and the other two gifts?"

" oh I think you're gonna have fun with these. Firstly I'm removing the limiters on your strength and speed."\

" … What?!"

"There will be no limit to how strong and fast you can become. Essentially I'm giving you the possibility of becoming superhuman. Now that doesn't mean you just be Hulk from the beginning. It'll work just like normal strenght and speed gain. Just easier. Which brings me to my last gift. I'm granting you an advanced adaptive healing factor."

" I know I already said this but… WHAT?!"

He laughed.

It means that your body will heal ridiculously fast. It being adaptive means that any kind of wounds you get will heal faster the more you are exposed to them. This includes internal maladies. I'm… not sure what will happen if anything gets cut off… so try to avoid that yeah?"

And here, he paused and looked at me. " Do you understand what I'm giving you?"

" Yeah.. I got it."

And I did. With this… I could avoid the usual problems involving wounds. No risk of infection. My muscles would heal faster from damage, making me stronger faster.. wait…

" Does that include?..."

"Ye-…" he stopped, looking troubled.

" I think so. We'll only know for sure if you get bitten. But the good news is… if you live? You'll never have to worry about dying from a walker ever again."

I looked at him, confused.

" But…:"

" Think about it man. You're a very smart guy."

I considered it for a second… Holy Fuck!

" The bites have nothing to do with it! It's the bacteria in their mouths isn't it? The decomposition of flesh turns their bites septic!"

The kid slapped the desk in approval. " Ding Ding Ding! We got a winner!"

" Now then… there is a side effect to those last 2 gifts.."

" And they would be?"

" You're going to have to eat a shit ton more than you did last time. The sheer caloric toll it'll take to maintain it? Basically you better start hunting immediately after getting to the Motor Inn."

Shit… " ok. The benefits outweigh the detriments."

"Alright good. Are you ready for this?"

" Would anybody be?"

" Good point."

"wait… before you send me.. Why are you helping me?"

He gave me a sad smile. " I heard your story one day.. And I refused to let it end like that."

"… Thank you."

" You're welcome. Now go get that little girl!"

As everything faded, I had one thought rolling through my head.

"I'm coming Sweet-pea."


End file.
